Kenyan Wins Marathon Despite Running 2K Extra

Phillip Samoei ran two kilometers extra and still won the Manitoba Marathon. Photo: Winnipeg Free Press

Phillip Samoei ran two kilometers extra and still won the Manitoba Marathon. Photo: Winnipeg Free Press

The lead escort vehicle had made a wrong turn.

Stories of runners leaders taking a wrong turn in a race are a dime a dozen. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that the mistake costs the leader the race. Not so at the Manitoba Marathon over the weekend. Philip Samoei, a Kenyan-born runner who lives in Calgary was blazing ahead of the field in the race when he accidentally did one additional loop around the Jubilee Overpass–a 2-kilometer mistake.

His lead was so pronounced, Samoei was still able to win the race despite running longer than planned. His finishing time was 2:35:45.

“My best time is 2:18, but [Sunday] I ran more than two kilometres off… I did two loops and was supposed to do only one, and that gives me my poor time, and demoralized me,” Samoei recalled afterwards.

Race director Shirley Lumb initially couldn’t understand how this mistake occurred, but eventually put the pieces together. An escort vehicle in front of Samoei had to pass an ambulance and in so doing made a wrong turn.